Apatow Sets Cast For Next Comedy

By Katey Rich: 2008-03-10 11:14:50

We all thought we had Judd Apatow’s number. He writes and directs a comedy, casts a bunch of unfamiliar faces, and puts in the lead a supporting player from his earlier film. That’s how Seth Rogen’s face graced all the posters for Knocked Up last summer, and that’s how we figured Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Martin Starr or another of Knocked Up’s supporting actors would star in Apatow’s next movie.

So now that Apatow has announced the cast for his new project, the actor who will follow Seth Rogen’s footsteps to fame is… Seth Rogen! Hey, no fair cheating, Judd! Variety reported today that Rogen will star in the Apatow-written and directed film, with a plot that’s completely under wraps for now. In another shocker, Apatow has cast his wife, Leslie Mann, opposite Rogen. And in the spirit of helping out up-and-coming young actors, he’s also cast a struggling unknown named Adam Sandler in a supporting part.

Seriously, what gives guys? The fun of Apatow’s two previous movies is the anarchic, boys-will-be-boys goofiness of it all. The lack of major stars and large ensembles made it feel like you were sitting in on an improv session with some unknown comedy troupe. With Sandler, one of the biggest names in comedy, and Rogen, an established star at this point, won’t it feel like we’re actually playing for keeps now, striving for that $100 million box office take?

I hate to complain about anything Judd Apatow does, and I’m still most definitely excited for this. I assume that many of the Apatow regulars will be involved—who wouldn’t want to be in this movie?—but I’m worried he’s tinkering with the formula. Give us a new star, Judd! You mint them the same way you mint money! Seth Rogen is out in the world doing just fine—we want to be introduced to our next sweetheart.

RELATED: judd apatow, seth rogen, adam sandler, leslie mann

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Sam Says:
March 10th, 2008 at 22:38
meh; I want Apatow to cast the best actors for the movie if that means casting an unknown or lesser known great and if that means casting an a-list star that's fine too.

Bunny Dee Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 10:54
The way I see it, Apatow just aims to have good fun while making his movies, and casting people whom he gets along well with, while still making sure that they fit the parts given to them.

I wouldn't expect him to follow some sort of 'formula', just as I wouldn't expect him to cast anyone because of his/her 'big name' (or lack of such).

But that's just me, and the way I see things - all idealized and whatnot.

Faith Says:
March 11th, 2008 at 17:24
If you watch some of his older shows like Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks, you'll notice that these guys are regulars in Apatow's work, it's not as if he just decided to use them in Superbad and Knocked Up out of nowhere - Sandler makes an appearance in Undeclared, too, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this isn't anything new from Apatow.

BunnyDee Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 02:15
Yup, major Freaks and Geeks geek myself, back in the day... And, if we take that as 'moment zero' in Apatow's career, it pretty much shows that he's gone on to make stuff with 'his people', pretty much, rather than go out of his way to discover new talent. It's just that people didn't really know of him, or of most of the people he works with, 'til now, when he's recently made a few hits in a row, and all of his 'gang' seem like 'cool new people'. We can't really expect him to roam the streets of obscurity any more now, though, can we?

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